On Thursday, Congressman Mo Brooks sent a letter to members of the committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Congressman Brooks said even though he has reservations about the Committee, he will voluntarily submit to a Committee deposition if certain requirements are met. According to the press release, Brooks is asking for the following terms:
1. Public Hearing. The deposition must be in public in a Capitol or House Office Building room of sufficient size and with sufficient resources to allow any interested media to attend and broadcast the event live, or otherwise transcribe and reveal (or play recordings of) the deposition. The Committee claims it is doing the public’s business. As such, the deposition should be in public.
2. January 6 Scope. The scope of deposition questions must be relevant to, and limited to, events surrounding the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
3. Questions by Congressmen. Questions may only be asked by Congressmen who serve on the Committee (no questions by staffers or other non-Congressmen). If a deposition is important enough to demand the time of a Congressman who is deposed, then it is similarly important enough to also demand the time of Committee Congressmen.
4. Document Disclosure. The Committee’s subject matter occurred 17 to 19 months ago. Everyone’s memory fades, little by little, with the passage of time. If the Committee is going to ask questions about content of any prior statements, electronic communications, written communications, or the like, for which there is electronic or written documentation, that documentation must be submitted to Congressman Brooks’ office in the Rayburn House Office building a minimum of seven days before the deposition, so that Congressman Brooks can refresh his memory of its contents.
5. Deposition Date Options. Congressman Brooks’ deposition must be conducted on a day when recorded votes are taken on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, i.e., a day when Congressman Brooks is already in Washington, DC for votes.
The January 6 committee held its fifth meeting today and focused on Donald Trump’s sweeping pressure campaign that targeted not only statewide election officials but also his own executive branch agencies.
“I understand the Committee wishes to depose me concerning January 6 events and have heard rumor the Committee “issued” a subpoena for my appearance. I have on countless occasions been in public venues in Alabama, in my Congressional office, on the House Floor, and numerous places in between, yet no Committee subpoena has been served. That is puzzling,” Brooks stated.
“Quite frankly, I don’t believe I have knowledge of January 6 events that are not already known or that add to what the Committee already knows. As the Committee knows, I have already made multiple, lengthy sworn statements in the Eric Swalwell lawsuit in federal court and made multiple, lengthy written and oral statements elsewhere. Presumably, the Committee has already obtained and reviewed these statements,” Brooks continued.
Brooks concluded, “I will voluntarily appear before the Committee to give sworn testimony providing the five requirements mentioned above are met. However, if the Committee rejects these basic requirements, then I hereby incorporate by reference all objections of each Congressman who has objected to and contested Committee subpoenas and, by this letter, hereby assert those objections to this Committee should this Committee properly serve a subpoena on me.”
